Luke 17:20-21 20And when he was questioned by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with observation, 21nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in within you.”
The Pharisees always seemed to be lurking in the background listening in to Jesus’ teachings. At least they were curious, but it is not enough to be curious. Curiosity and questioning should eventually lead to faith. There is no hint of animosity in their summarized question in verse 20. Some of the Pharisees repented and came to believe, like the younger son of chapter 15, but others hardened their hearts like the older son. Many people ask the same question today: when will God’s kingdom come? The challenges we face on many fronts are not new but have plagued humanity since Adam and Eve and their children. We long for God’s kingdom to come in power, for wrong to be righted, and for death and disease to end. Jews of the first century, like these Pharisees, were expecting God to restore the kingdom to Israel and to bring judgment on the wicked. Jesus had been preaching about the coming kingdom, and so these Jews wanted proof and to see it all happen. Some were sincere and genuinely looked for God’s intervention. Others were asking Jesus questions to trick and trap him.
Jesus’ answer must have surprised some of them. They were looking for physical evidence, but the kingdom was something much deeper and profound. The human problem is deeper than physical prosperity or political peace. It is spiritual, which means it is inside people. The kingdom deals with the heart. There was plenty of external evidence that the kingdom had some in Jesus’ ministry, but the Pharisees were looking for more. But even if Jesus rose from the dead, they would not believe (16:31). One cannot just point out the kingdom as if it were a castle on a hill. If people want evidence, all they need to do is look at the alcoholic who has been sober for a year, the marriage that has been restored, or the family that has been reunited. God’s power is at work in people when they come in faith.
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